While non-binding, the resolution seeks to incentivize European nations to increase access to medical marijuana

Forbes (US)Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Following reports about the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending a rescheduling of cannabis and several of its key components under international drug treaties, the European Parliament voted on a resolution that would help advance medical cannabis in the countries that form the European Union. While non-binding, the resolution seeks to incentivize European nations to increase access to medical marijuana, prioritizing scientific research and clinical studies. Same as the WHO’s recommendation, the European Parliament’s resolution shows how wide support for cannabis legalization is, but does not change any actual laws on the international or local levels.

Lack of consistent supply in legal cannabis shops has been a major market stimulator for the illicit sector

Montreal Gazette (Canada)Wednesday, February 13, 2019

A new research note from Scotiabank analysts estimate that the black market will control 71 percent of cannabis sales in Canada in 2019. The logistical challenges and related supply issued of producing legal cannabis are many–and as a result, the cannabis black market is booming. Oliver Rowe and Ben Isaacson calculated the figure, which reduced its legal recreational sales prediction to about 30 percent, citing supply issues, government inspections, packaging snags and quality control issues as some of the reasons for the low percentage. “As we expect these issues, particularly the limited retail presence in key provinces, to continue through 2019, we have reduced those volumes by 100 metric tonnes, or 30 percent of legal demand,” according to Scotiabank.

A decriminalization crusader sees a different future for recreational marijuana

Crain's (US)Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Sabet's strategy for sabotaging legalization is to offer legislators what he calls "a true decriminalization and [social] justice" bill, which would do away with arrests for low-level offenses and replace them with a system for referrals and drug counseling. His idea of replacing arrests with warnings, citations and small fines is a far cry, however, from what most drug reformers have in mind. Although he says SAM is still formulating its approach and aims for flexibility, the recommendations in the "model legislation" on the group's website read almost like a parody of bureaucratic overreach. Many of SAM's purported goals, such as avoiding the overt commercialization of marijuana, could be achieved through legislation, prohibition's opponents say.

Even with legislation in place governing the trade of cannabis, Jamaica’s manufacturing standards must match those of the importing nation

The Gleaner (Jamaica)Monday, February 11, 2019

Jamaica’s decriminalisation of ganja in 2015 brought with it many expectations, one being the ability to export its hi-grade herb. With a relatively small marketplace (a 2016-2017 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey says 17 per cent of Jamaicans use ganja), investors are eager to expand their market base beyond Jamaica’s 2.9 million citizens. Given Jamaica’s ideal growing conditions and its reputation for producing high-quality varieties, with potentially unique medicinal applications, a licensed producer would have a field of endless opportunities if it developed an international market for its strain. Intellectual property rights protecting that strain would also allow the producer to maximise its earning potential.

Entering the legal market is too costly and the regulations are too complex

CBC News (Canada)Sunday, February 10, 2019

British Columbia may be famous for its bud but some say Canada's new marijuana legalization framework is excluding the small producers with established know-how. A movement is growing in the province to address that problem with a common idea: cannabis co-operatives. "Some may argue we've lost our place to either Ontario or Alberta based on the number of licensed producers based out of those provinces," said Barinder Rasode, CEO and co-founder or Grow Tech Labs, a cannabis business accelerator. Grow Tech Labs and Victory Square Technologies launched a cannabis co-op this month that will begin with a provincewide consultation of small producers and processors, Rasode said.

Party drug or breakthrough treatment?

Haaretz (Israel)Sunday, February 10, 2019

MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, is a drug more commonly associated with raves and nightclubs than a therapist's office. Emerging research has shown promising results in using this "party drug" to treat patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and Israel's Health Ministry has just approved the use of MDMA to treat dozens of patients. MDMA is classified in Israel as a "dangerous drug", recreational use is illegal, and therapeutic use of MDMA has yet to be formally approved and is still in clinical trials. However, this treatment is deemed as "compassionate use," which allows drugs that are still in development to be made available to patients outside of a clinical trial due to the lack of effective alternatives.

The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence has recommended that cannabis resin and other marijuana products should be removed from a schedule IV

Newsweek (US)Friday, February 8, 2019

The World Health Organization has suggested that cannabis should be removed from Schedule IV of the 1961 UN Single Convention given the mounting evidence showing that the drug could prove beneficial in treating a number of health problems. International drug policy expert Martin Jelsma from the Transnational Institute said this was the “first time in history” that the WHO had undertaken a proper critical review of cannabis and related substances. Nevertheless, he said the committee’s proposals don’t go far enough, noting that its rationale for keeping cannabis in schedule I is “highly questionable.”

San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Denver and Boston have also seriously considered safe injection sites

The New York Times (US)Wednesday, February 6, 2019

The Justice Department is suing to stop a Philadelphia group from opening what some public health experts and mayors consider the next front in fighting the opioid epidemic: a place where people who inject fentanyl and other illicit drugs can do so under medical supervision.The nonprofit group, Safehouse, was formed last year to house the country’s first so-called safe injection site in Philadelphia, which has one of the nation’s highest rates of overdose deaths. Safehouse had been planning to open the site as soon as next month. But the Justice Department says it would “normalize” the use of deadly drugs.

It’s not about use, geography or demographics

The Conversation (UK)Tuesday, February 5, 2019

American views on marijuana have shifted incredibly rapidly. Thirty years ago, marijuana legalization seemed like a lost cause. In 1988, only 24 percent of Americans supported legalization. But steadily, the nation began to liberalize. By 2018, 66 percent of U.S. residents offered their approval, transforming marijuana legalization from a libertarian fantasy into a mainstream cause. Many state laws have changed as well. Over the last quarter-century, 10 states have legalized recreational marijuana, while 22 states have legalized medical marijuana. So why has public opinion changed dramatically in favor of legalization? In a study published this February, we examined a range of possible reasons, finding that the media likely had the greatest influence.

It is important to talk about its beneficial effects, but we should not conceal the harmful ones

Swissinfo (Switzerland)Monday, February 4, 2019

Switzerland’s national drugs policy is often cited as a pioneering, humane model. Twenty-five years ago, the small Alpine nation launched a project for the medical prescription of heroin and a four-pronged drugs strategy - prevention, therapy, damage limitation and repression. This pragmatic policy, introduced in 1991, was born out of the Zurich drug problems of the 1980s and 1990s. However, a progressive approach has not been adopted for medical cannabis, says Brenneisen, chairman of the Swiss Working Group on Cannabinoids in Medicine (SACM) and a former consultant to the United Nations Narcotics Laboratory. Tens of thousands of patients in Switzerland regularly use cannabis to relieve pain and discomfort. Most of them do so illegally, however.

This website

UN Drug Control

In 2011 the 1961 UN Single Convention on drugs will be in place for 50 years. In 2012 the international drug control system will exist 100 years since the International Opium Convention was signed in 1912 in The Hague. Does it still serve its purpose or is a reform of the UN Drug Conventions needed? This site provides critical background.